


Zeeplabor: Playing the Possum

by DancouMaryuu



Series: Zeeplabor - The Mobile Police [3]
Category: Kidou Keisatsu Patlabor | Mobile Police Patlabor, Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Patlabor Fusion, Gen, Mecha, Patlabor - Freeform, Police, Real Robot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-15
Updated: 2018-11-21
Packaged: 2019-10-30 10:04:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17826632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancouMaryuu/pseuds/DancouMaryuu
Summary: After a deployment nearly goes awry, tensions between Judy and Lee boil over, and when Lee throws down the gauntlet, the two of them find themselves facing each others' true selves.





	1. "We've got streakers on the scene!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Howdy, folks! I'm back! Hiatus over!
> 
> Hopefully from now on we'll see more regular updates!

_"Unit 1, what’s taking you?”_ said Captain Bogo.

“T-traffic’s still really backed up, sir,” Clawhauser stammered. “We’ve got our lights and siren on, but we’re still going at a snail’s pace.”

“So what’s the deal with the Inner Wild Front?” Judy asked.

“Well…” Clawhauser muttered as he kept his eyes on the road, driving Unit 1’s carrier through Sahara Square, to the scene of the incident. “From what I’ve heard, they think that civilized life is wrong, but the details are a bit sketchy on why.”

 _“That’s because even they can’t figure it out_ ,” Bogo chimed in through the radio. _“The IWF is a decentralized movement – one faction may be completely different from the next. They all believe that ‘the system’ is corrupt and irredeemable, so we should just go back to our wild ways, but they can’t agree on why that is or what to do about it. Some of them are content to just wait until we just drop Pax Zootopia and start eating each other again. Others like this one… they can’t wait that long.”_

 _“So why is this guy trashing Mystic Springs Oasis?”_ said Nick. _“Over there they’re all about ‘back-to-nature’!”_

 _“Only reason I can think of is that this idiot thinks the MSO isn’t ‘back-to-nature’_ enough _for their tastes. Or maybe they have a grudge against the place.”_

Judy’s nose twitched in confusion. “How does a personal grudge factor into the IWF’s plans?!”

 _“With terrorist groups,”_ Bogo explained, _“it’s not unusual for their agendas to change at the drop of a hat. With a decentralized group like the IWF in particular, it’s not surprising that some random idiot decides to smash things up just for the hell of it while waving the IWF flag as an excuse.”_

 _“Hylander has already engaged the suspect,”_ came Lee’s voice, betraying a little impatience. _“How long will it be before Unit 1 gets here?”_

“Not much longer,” said Clawhauser. “We just need to get through this traffic!”

* * *

“Well, _hurry!_ ” Lee shouted into her receiver. Unit 2 was experiencing difficulties fighting the Ushii UL-98 Hareacles H21 that the IWF terrorist had stolen from the Climate Wall Refurbishment Project.

Now, Hylander and the tree pangolin piloting the stolen Labor were grappling just near the wall of the Mystic Springs Oasis.

“Can’t I use my revolver cannon?” growled Hylander through his comms system. as Unit 2 took a step back.

“Not until you can get him out of here,” said Lee. “It’s too confined.”

“Confound it!” the hyrax grumbled. “I don’t think I’m good at close quarters. Not compared to Hopps at any rate.”

“Well, Hopps isn’t here,” Lee hissed. “Just push this maniac out of here and relocate the fight to Sahel Creek Park! It’s already been evacuated.”

“I-I can try!” Hylander tried charging the Hareacles.

Like the Bullfrog – which came from the same company – the Hareacles was a squat, bipedal machine without a proper head that had three-fingered hands. However, it lacked the airplane-style cockpit, instead having an all-metal-protected cockpit, with a small viewport in the front. The machine’s pilot mainly used monitors to see his way around. In addition, the shoulders featured holes cut into the bodywork to reduce weight, and the forearms were slimmer those of the Bullfrog.

Now, this Hareacles – which was painted fluorescent green – grabbed Unit 2 and began engaging in a shoving match with it.

“Hylander, your footing,” Lee snapped. “Adjust your footing!”

Unit 2 hadn’t quite braced his Labor properly for the shoving match, and the Ingrowl fell backwards into the wall, causing it to crumble behind him.

“Ribbons!” Lee cursed.

* * *

 _“Can’t you take Dune Street?”_ snapped Bogo through the radio.

“I-it’s too narrow for the carrier, sir,” stammered Clawhauser. “And even if we could get through it, I don’t think I could pull off that tight turn!”

 _“Right then,”_ Bogo sighed. _“Unit 1, deck-up.”_

“Wha- _here_?!” sputtered Clawhauser. “ _Now_?!”

_“Now, Clawhauser.”_

“ _Now_ -now, sir?!”

 _“_ Now _-now, Clawhauser.”_ Bogo repeated. _“Deck-up. Hopps can walk the rest of the way.”_

 _“Uh, Cap’n?”_ came Nick’s voice. _“Wouldn’t that just get the city mad at us… more than usual?”_

 _“I’d rather have that than civilian casualties. Now shape up and deck-up!”_ Bogo hollered.

“Y-yes, sir!” said Clawhauser.

Judy immediately dashed into Robin and Clawhauser raised the payload bay.

Nick backed his command car onto the sidewalk, making sure his lights and siren were on, and spoke into the car’s loudspeakers. “Can I ask all you pedestrians to please move along? It’s just that if my friend here stepped on ya, it’d mean a _loooot_ of nasty paperwork for us cops!”

Many of the mammals lining the sidewalks fled into nearby buildings as the clamps holding the Ingrowl in place on the trailer were released, and it took its first steps off the carrier.

“Okay, Robin…” said Judy inside the machine, “Let’s roll…”

‘Rolling’ as it turned out was more tiptoeing around pedestrians and cars on Dune Street while Nick went ahead in front of her to try and clear a path.

“Alright, alright! Let’s have some _room_ here, mammals! One side, folks!” said Nick, “You, the jackal! Why are you even eating a burger in the middle of the road?!”

“I paid good money for this burger,” yelled the jackal, “I’ll eat it where I damn well please!”

“Uh-huh…” said Nick, “Well, let me put it this way; either you move the burger meat, or you _become_ burger meat.”

The jackal whimpered as he made for the side of the road while the command car and Ingrowl passed by. Nick kept calling for pedestrians to make way.

“You bunch, over there! There’s a time and a place for group selfies. This is _not_ one of ‘em.”

Judy couldn’t believe mammals had the bad taste to take group selfies next to dangerous situations involving Labors, but sure enough, two zebras, a bison, and a wildebeest were glaring at the command car as one of the zebras put down his selfie stick.

Nick kept shouting. “Clear the way! Defer! Defer! Defer to the Lord High Labor Executioner! Leave some room for the bunny to put her big feet!”

“Hey, I resent that!” said Judy.

“Well, it’s accurate!”

“Accurate or not, it’s speciest!”

“Well, I wasn’t talking about _your_ big feet, I was talking about Robin’s!”

“So we _both_ have big feet?!” said Judy, petulantly, “Either way, I don’t have to listen to this!”

“Hey, you’re doing well enough! With catlike tread, upon your prey you steal-“

“What have I said about _HMS Pinafur_ songs?!”

“That wasn’t _HMS Pinafur_. That was _The Pirates of Pawzance_!”

 _“Hopps! Wilde!”_ came Bogo’s voice on Judy and Nick’s respective comm systems. _“Are you aware that you both have your loudspeakers on?!”_

Judy bit her tongue. She’d have to have a word with Joanna about Robin’s external sound systems.

Soon, they had made it to the section of ruined wall, where the Hareacles was slamming Unit 2 face-first into one of the buildings, ripping it open.

Nick pulled his command car up beside Lee’s before poking his head out of the top hatch. “So what’s going on? Why isn’t Blunderbuss fighting back?”

“I can’t reach him!” Lee explained. “I think he’s been knocked out!”

“I’ll take care of him!” Judy said, pulling out her stun-stick.

“Gimme a sec!” said Nick, patching his receiver to his loudspeakers. This time however, he stayed behind Robin. “Hey, you! In the Hareacles! Can’t we just talk about this?”

“No!” barked the pangolin.

“Ah, c’mon!” said Nick. “What’s this place done to you?”

“They’re a bunch of sellouts!” yelled the pangolin. “This city needs to burn! I’ll start with them!”

“Nick, honey isn’t working,” said Judy, making Robin take a step forward. “Time for vinegar.” The bunny doe switched on her loudspeakers. “Step out of the Labor now or… or… or…!”

[[OST]](https://youtu.be/bOjUXUOJxAk)

Judy had noticed several mammals fleeing from the scuffle. A zebra, a hippo, and a bear. But what had caught her eye was what _wasn’t_ there.

“C-Captain Bogo!” Judy stammered into her radio.

_“What is it, Hopps?”_

“W-We’ve got streakers on the scene!”

_“Streakers?! What the hell are you talking about?!”_

“There are naked mammals – running all over the premises!” Judy quickly took in the sight of multiple other mammals of various species milling about the courtyard, all of them as naked as the day they were born.

“She means MSO members, sir,” said Nick. “Carrots, Mystic Springs Oasis is a naturalist club. They think clothes on animals are unnatural.”

“B-b-b-but isn’t this indecent exposure?!” stammered Judy.

 _“MSO falls under a legal loophole,”_ said Bogo. _“Just forget the naked animals and focus on the suspect!”_

“Uh, y-y-yes, sir!” Judy’s attention turned back to the Hareacles. “A-attention, Hair-naked- _Hareacles_ pilot! Cease and disrobe- _desist_! Open your cockpit- er- hatch! And come out with your parts- _paws_ up or we will have to use fuzz- _force_!”

“Smooth, Carrots…” Nick muttered.

Just then, the fox noticed a nude peccary frantically running into the part of the building where the Hareacles had forced Unit 2’s head in through the second floor.

“Hang on!” Nick said, “We’ve got a straggler! I’ll get him out!”

Nick got out of his car and dashed into the building after the peccary, following him to a room right below where Unit 2’s head and torso lay. This room was full shelves containing jars of multicolored liquids.

“Hey, if you haven’t noticed, this isn’t safe!” Nick frantically explained, trying to drag the peccary away by the hoof.

“No way!” the peccary hollered, pulling away from the fox. “I gotta make sure my experiment’s safe!”

Nick didn’t know what ‘experiment’ the peccary referred to and he didn’t care. Before he could say anything to the naturalist, a naked yak with immensely long head-fur walked in the door behind him.

“Aw, Carl!” the yak chuckled, seemingly oblivious to the peril that the club was in. “You haven’t been doing _that stuff_ again, have you?”

“Aw, c’mon, Yax!” the peccary protested. “It’s not so bad!”

“Uh, listen you guys!” Nick sputtered, gesturing to the window, where Unit 2’s abdomen and legs blocked any view. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but there’s a Labor out there that could fall on our heads at any moment, so we’ve gotta-“

Just then, the Hareacles’s speakers came on. “You stay back or you’ll end up like your friend here!”

Outside, the Hareacles banged its fist on Unit 2’s back for emphasis, which caused the ceiling of the room Nick, Yax, and Carl were in to collapse. Jars of fluid smashed all around them.

* * *

“ _Nick!_ ” Judy panicked. “Nick, are you alright?! Please respond!”

A voice coughed on the other end. _“I-I’m alright, Carrots. The room didn’t collapse all the way. We’re all safe here.”_

Judy sighed in relief. “Okay, just hurry up and get out of there! _Ah!_ ”

Robin dodged an attempt by the pangolin to tackle it, then pointed the stun stick at the Hareacles menacingly.

“Nick, this guy’s not giving up,” Judy panted. “You know your Labors. Where should I stick this guy?”

 _“Oh, you needn’t worry, Carrots!”_ Nick’s voice suddenly became off-kilter. “ _No matter how thick the armor, you have but to pierce it!”_

“What?”

 _“Wilde, could you answer Hopps’ question?”_ Bogo growled.

“Nick, is that you?” Judy wasn’t sure what was going on.

 _“Oh, sure!”_ That _was_ Nick’s voice, but it didn’t _sound_ like Nick. _“Nicholas Wilde – do not forget this name!”_

“Uh, Nick? You didn’t take a blow to the head, did you?” Judy became concerned.

Then a new, cheerful voice broke in. _“Oh, your foxy friend’s alright. I think the fumes from Carl’s ‘experiments’ just made him kinda wonky.”_

 _“What- who is this?!”_ Bogo broke in. _“What’s going on?!”_

 _“Oh, my name’s Yax. I’m with the club.”_ the new voice chuckled. _“Don’t worry, I’ll get your friend outta here.”_

 _“Please do,”_ sighed Bogo. _“Lee, since Wilde and Hylander are both down for the count, you’re to act as Hopps’ backup now.”_

 _“Oh, I’m fine, Cap’n!”_ Nick’s voice came in, _“I’m gonna scrub these fumes from the face of the earth!”_

“Understood, sir,” said the opossum from her command car.

Judy switched on her loudspeaker as she made Robin take a few steps back. “Please, sir! Just stop and think about what you’re doing! This isn’t right!”

 _“I should’ve been the one to fill your dark soul with RIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!”_ Nick’s voice squawked in.

“Shut up!” yelled the pangolin. “These mammals deserve to suffer! For lying to us all!”

“Hopps, what are you doing?!” Lee broke in.

“I’m trying to buy time for Nick and the others to get out!”

“If you allow the suspect time to move, there’s a greater chance he might try and attack another section of the building,” Lee noted.

“You’re not gonna trick me!” said the IWF pangolin. “I’m willing to die for my ideals!”

“No one has to die here!” Judy pulled her machine forward, yanking the Hareacles away from the building and into the center of the courtyard.

“You’re being inefficient!” said Lee. “Just get behind him and apply the baton!”

“I have to get behind him first!” Judy dodged a swipe from the Hareacles, backing up all the way.

 _“HADOUKEN! SONIC BOOM!”_ Nick’s voice yelled.

“Roughing up the Labor isn’t necessary,” said Lee. “Just get around him!”

“I’m _trying_!” Judy dodged another swipe.

“Well, try harder!” Lee growled.

Just then, Judy saw behind the Hareacles. There was Yax, casually carrying Nick over his shoulder and dragging a groggy peccary by the hand. For some reason, Nick had a pear in his hand.

“Carrots!” the fox piped up as he groggily raised his head toward Robin. “Shall I give you this pear?”

“Hang on!” Judy dropped the stun stick and caught one of the IWF terrorist’s punches, and promptly flung the Hareacles over Robin’s shoulder, sending it back out hole in the wall.

“Hopps, what-“

“I’m relocating the conflict! I can still lure him to Sahel Creek Park!”

“Hopps, you don’t need any of this nonsense! Just take him down sometime _before_ sundown!” Lee snapped.

 _“Now you’ll die before even seeing your precious moon, GX!”_ the drugged Nick’s voice slipped in.

 _“Lee, give Hopps some breathing room!”_ Bogo interrupted. _“Hopps, just put an end to this!”_

“I will!” Judy growled as she picked up Robin’s stun stick, put it back behind her shield, and climbed back over the ruined wall to where the Hareacles was getting up.

Before the Hareacles could brace itself properly, Judy launched Robin at it, giving her opponent a clothesline that sent it skittering towards Sahel Creek Park. Now, Judy was careful to place herself in the park.

“Why you…!” the pangolin growled, propelling his Hareacles forward towards Robin. Judy used another judo throw to send it straight into the middle of the park.

“Is this range safe for firearms?” Judy asked.

“It should be, but-“

“Good!”

Judy drew Robin’s revolver cannon, and the metal firing visor slid over Robin’s Plexiglas visor.

“Hopps, what are you doing?!” Lee hissed.

“If I disable that thing’s legs, I can get up close and use the stun-stick,” explained Judy.

“You stand a better chance up close!” Lee groaned.

_“VOL-TEK-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“_

_“Would someone_ please _shut off Wilde’s mic?!”_ yelled Bogo.

 _“No need, sir,”_ piped up Beaverbrook. _“I think he broke it just then.”_

Before the Hareacles could get up, Judy fired three shots. One missed its mark and went straight into the ground. The other two ripped through the Hareacles’ legs, and the Labor collapsed, hydraulic fluid spewing from its knees.

“Okay…!” Robin drew its stun stick again and nonchalantly walked up to the prostrate Labor, promptly inserting the stun stick into its back.

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Judy pointedly remarked to Lee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC**
> 
> 1) Micheal Giacchino - "The Naturalist" - from _Zootopia_


	2. "It's like Gnuton's Third Law when you think about it."

"At any rate," Lee growled. "It's quite clear that Officer Hopps conducted herself in an improper and unprofessional manner yesterday."

"Captain." Judy gave a sidelong glare at the opossum before turning back to Captain Bogo. "I took down the bad guy. That's my job."

Behind the two, Captain Polecatsky wordlessly sipped some coffee at her desk, taking in the sight of Bogo sitting behind his, nervously glancing from one to the other of his subordinates.

Lee's prehensile tail was writhing like a giant pink worm, and Judy's foot was beginning to thump.

"She inflicted needless damage to the rogue Labor," said Lee, more firmly.

"I figured by shooting its legs, I could pin it down and stick it," Judy urged. "Besides, last I checked, I'm not obligated to do rogue Labors any favors."

"You're supposed to handle your duties in a clinical and efficient manner," Lee growled, now definitively turning away from Captain Bogo to face Judy. "You should be directing your attentions toward limiting damage on all fronts – including damage to the opposing Labor."

"That pangolin was ready to kill innocent bystanders!" Judy snapped, turning to face Lee. "I couldn't just play nice with him!"

"Instead, by toying with the suspect, you gave him more time to kill those bystanders!" hissed Lee.

"But he wasn't going after those bystanders! He was going after me! That's the whole point! As long as he was getting mad at me, he wasn't going after any civilians!"

Lee's tail was a pink blur. Judy's foot-thumping now had the rhythm of a machine gun.

"So instead you inflicted needless damage to the Hareacles and threatened more property damage by moving it to Sahel Creek Park!" Lee snapped.

"The naturalists hadn't all evacuated!" Judy protested. "What's worth more, innocent lives, or real estate values and your precious Hareacles?!"

"Considering that you've given Unit 1 a pet name, I don't think you're in a position to-"

" _SHUT IT! BOTH OF YOU_!" The office shook as Bogo slammed his hooves on the desk. Both the rabbit and the opossum were stunned into silence.

"I don't know  _what_  this bad blood is about, and frankly, I don't  _care_!" growled Bogo, looming over his subordinates. "Now, Wilde's already recovered, and Hylander is set to return to duty tomorrow morning, so hopefully you won't have to rely on each other again after that."

Judy sighed in relief.

" _THAT SAID!_ " The Cape buffalo pointedly interrupted Judy's thoughts, "A situation like this  _could_  happen again, so whatever problems you have with each other, I expect you to  _deal_  with them, and deal with them  _now_!  _IS THAT CLEAR?!_ "

"Yes, sir…" the two officers droned.

"Dismissed!"

Judy left the room first.

"And Lee…" Bogo stopped the opossum as she passed through the door. "I would appreciate it if you tried to be a little more flexible. As you're this Division's second-in-command, I shouldn't have to remind you that respect is a two-way street."

"Yes, sir…" Lee muttered as she left the room.

After the Lieutenant departed, Bogo sighed and studied the ceiling – his new favorite pastime since being charged with commanding Division 2.

"I think I'm beginning to understand what you meant by 'the headaches never end'," piped up Captain Polecatsky.

"Yes…" Bogo muttered.

"I didn't think it'd be this bad when I heard your Division was being formed 'irrespective of personal problems'." The skunk sipped her coffee. "I wish I could help you here, but I don't know any more about those two than you do."

Bogo buried his head in his hooves briefly, then stood up and went to the filing cabinet behind his desk. "Maybe we can fix that."

* * *

"How are you doing?" said Judy.

"Terrible," groaned Nick, between spoonfuls of ice cream. "I think that stuff from MSO's still messing with my head. I used to hate mint chocolate chip. Now I can't get enough of it!"

"Sorry I couldn't help you," said the rabbit, ears drooping.

"Wasn't your fault," Nick assured. "I heard there was some sort of communications breakdown while I was out. What happened?"

Just then, Lee walked into the Ready Room. She and Judy exchanged an absolutely piercing look before the possum returned to looking over the damage reports for Unit 2.

_[[OST1]](https://youtu.be/qPwBBVIlg3Y) _

"Sorry I asked…" muttered Nick.

* * *

"Virginia Lee Foxape. Age 25. Species:  _Didelphis virginiana_." Captain Polecatsky read aloud from the file Bogo had handed her. "Born in Podunk, Deerbrooke County."

"Judith Laverne Hopps. Age 24 – about half a year younger than Lee. Species:  _Oryctolagus cuniculus_." Bogo read from his file. "Born in Bunnyburrow, Tri-Burrows County."

"Little known about her childhood." Polecatsky's brow creased as she looked over Lee's file. "Got a scholarship to Zootopia Technical Institute – a special scholarship for low-income students. Majored in robotics."

"Had a knack for getting into trouble as a child. Captain of her high school varsity girl's softball team for a while," Bogo sighed as he saw the next section of Judy's file, "but resigned in protest after her school turned down her request to establish a girl's baseball team. Majored in criminal justice at Bunnyburrow Community College."

"Upon getting her degree, she got a job at the construction firm contracted to build that new dam near her hometown. Piloted construction Labors at first. While there, there were a few IWF attacks on the place, so the Deerbrooke County Police and the security company keeping an eye on the dam jointly purchased a police-modded Tigersyo and the police recruited Lee so she could pilot it. She managed to take down a few Labor criminals before she was promoted to Sergeant so she could help educate other security/police Labor pilots monitoring the project. Then she accepted a transfer to your new Division, and she was promoted to Lieutenant." Polecatsky sipped some water after reading that extensive passage.

"Submitted twelve applications to the ZPD – the first when she was nine years old." Bogo groaned and shook his head. "All of them were turned down. Shortly after the first Zeeplabor task force was started, she took a course in Labor piloting, then gained experience piloting a… Bumpacrop (the hell?)… for the family farm. She then applied  _again_  to the ZPD, this time as a Zeeplabor pilot for Division 2, and succeeded, getting the third-highest score in PLAT history."

"They're more similar than I thought," Polecatsky mused. "It's like Gnuton's Third Law when you think about it."

"What?" Bogo raised an eyebrow

"Gnuton's Third Law?" the skunk ventured. "'Every action has an equal and opposite reaction'?"

"I wouldn't go  _that_  far," Bogo snorted. "What worries me is what's going to happen  _now_!"

* * *

A bold red, lagomorph-scaled convertible pulled up in SV2's parking lot. A young, white-furred hare promptly leapt out of the car. Eschewing the main, mammal-sized doors, this hare made for the large hangar doors. There, she took in the two Ingrowls.

"Mmmm!" she mused as she looked over Unit 2, "Getting some wear out of you, I see…!"

"Ms. Inaba?"

The hare turned to see Judy Hopps walking toward her. The hare's nose wiggled. "Don't I know you from someplace?"

"You remember me? B-BATE a few years ago? I was there with my dad?" Judy assured.

"Oh yeah!" Saeko Inaba's ears perked up. "The Tigersyo video!"

"Yeah!" Judy took a proud breath in. "If I hadn't seen that, I'd never have gotten to pilot that thing!" Judy gestured to Unit 1.

"You're a Forward for one of these?!" said Inaba.

"Mmmm-hmmm!" Judy nodded.

"That's amazing!" The hare was ecstatic.

"Wait a second…" The two lapins turned to see Nick Wilde walking up to Judy, carrying his fishing pole. "You know her?"

"Well, we only met once…" Judy murmured. Inaba shuffled away a little from the fox.

"Still,  _I_  never met you!" Nick shook his head in disbelief. "And I worked for your Dad's company!"

Saeko Inaba's father was President and CEO of Inaba Heavy Industries, one of the top Labor manufacturers in the country, and the maker of the AV-98 Ingrowl. Saeko herself worked for the company as well.

"Oh?" Inaba tilted her head. "Where were you?"

"Labor R&D – that's why they gave me the recruitment package." Nick shrugged. "How'd you two meet?"

"Oh, it was at B-BATE!" said Judy.

"B-BATE?!" It was Nick's turn to tilt his head.

"The  **B** unnyburrow  **B** iannual  **A** gricultural  **T** echnologies  **E** xposition?" said Judy. "Anyway, it was then that I got the idea to be a Zeeplabor pilot! I was there with my Dad and I noticed the I.H.I. promo video showed a Tigersyo in action. I asked Ms. Inaba about it-"

"Please, call me Saeko," the hare giggled.

"Sorry," Judy continued. "I asked  _Saeko_  about it and she told me about some of the opportunities for small mammals in SV2! She even gave me a sneak peek at some experimental schematics for a new model – it'd eventually become the Ingrowl!"

"Phew!" Nick chuckled. "Maybe  _you'd_  make a good industrial spy."

"I'd never have thought I'd see you here!" Saeko kept focusing on Judy, ignoring Nick's remark. "Putting the 98 through its paces, I see."

"Yep!" said Judy, puffing out her chest again. "So what brings you here?"

"Oh, I'm just going over some of the recent deployment records with your Captain – gotta see how the new models are performing." The hare began to move away from the pair. "You'll probably get a performance survey once I'm done. Bye!"

Nick shook his head after the hare as she bounded off to the Captains' office. "Saeko Inaba… You're a real high-roller, Carrots!"

* * *

After leaving Judy, Nick made for the spot under the Edwin F. Hoosfheimer Bridge again. All the Animazon Rule-mandated work had been completed before his recovery, so he was glad he'd dodged that bullet.

Suddenly, the fox's ears picked up the sound of panting behind him. He turned around to see Judy Hopps and Virginia Lee Foxape glaring daggers at one another. Clearly, the two had just been jogging.

"You… didn't… have… to go faster… than me…!" Lee growled between pants.

"Well, you… seemed like… you wanted… to keep up with me…!" Judy retorted, panting as well.

"That sort of… competitiveness… is only going to cost you further down the line!" The opossum glared at Judy.

"I'm a 'loose cannon', right?" Judy returned the favor. "'Can't be trusted to operate a six-ton Labor'? 'Poses a threat to herself, and to officers and civilians around her'?!"

"So you  _were_  listening…" Lee muttered.

Nick gulped. This was not going to end well.

"Yeah, I was!" said Judy, foot beginning to thump. "Just what is your problem with me?!"

"Your temperament," said Lee, nonchalantly. "I thought I made that clear."

"I get the job done." Judy growled. "That's the main thing."

"Uh, ladies…" Nick was getting nervous. Why  _here_?!

"Yes, but at what cost?" Lee stared Judy down. "Sooner or later, you're going to cause damage that won't be forgiven by the situation."

"Oh yeah?" said Judy, ears rising, but flopping ever-so-slightly. "Well how do I know _you're_ not the impatient one?"

Lee's eyebrow twitched. "Care to elaborate?"

"I think you want more glory," said Judy, smirking. "I think you can't stand the fact that your assigned Labor has had only one takedown – and it was before you got here!"

Nick grimaced. Judy was burning bridges like there was no tomorrow.

"I see…" Lee tilted her head down, eyes just visible under a furrowed brow. "Since professionalism has obviously gone out the window, I think you're an egomaniac with a hero complex who pilots Labors just to feel bigger than everyone else."

Judy gaped. Nick winced. Even he hadn't been that incisive.

"So you think I shouldn't even be here?" It was Judy's turn to furrow her brow – this time to the point where Nick could barely see her eyes – as her voice rumbled and her fists tightened with barely restrained fury.

"Essentially." Lee was unfazed. "In fact, I think it's high time someone taught you a lesson in what piloting a Zeeplabor really means."

"Oh?" Judy raised her head and crossed her arms. "What were you thinking?"

The opossum smirked.

Nick gulped, hoping he was still stoned.

* * *

 

“A sparring match?” Captain Bogo rumbled. “In Labors?!”

“Yes, sir,” Lee explained. The possum had come to the Captains’ office just as Saeko Inaba was leaving.

Bogo sat back in his chair. “…Why?!”

“I feel that practice would help us hone our skills better,” said Lee.

“That’s what simulators are for,” snorted Bogo.

“With respect, sir, simulators only go so far.” Lee’s face remained neutral. “You asked me to help guide this Division out of this rough period. This is my way of doing that.”

“Well, I-“

“I think it’s a great idea!” The door to the office opened, and Saeko Inaba strode in, ears perked up, an enthusiastic bucktoothed smile etched across her face.

Bogo snorted. He’d thought the hare had left already. “Why?”

“More action means more movement data for the pilots.” Inaba glanced from Lee to Bogo. “It’d be a real growth opportunity for the pilots _and_ the Ingrowls. The company would be thrilled to get that data down, and I bet Bureau Chief Buckminster would, too.”

Bogo’s ear twitched at the mention of Buckminster. I.H.I. had the wapiti Bureau Chief’s ear, and both Bogo and Saeko Inaba knew it.

“Very well,” the Cape buffalo sighed. “But _I_ set the rules. I’ll talk with Chief Mechanic Camazotz and we’ll set a date.”

“Understood, sir.” Lee nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 1) Kenji Kawai - "Impression" - from _Patlabor: The Mobile Police_ TV series.
> 
>  
> 
> Saeko Inaba: Japanese hare ( _Lepus brachyurus_ ) - As mentioned before, Inaba Heavy Industries - and the family they're named after - are named for the old Japanese tale of the Hare of Inaba.


	3. "I never thought I’d see a duel performed in this day and age!"

 

_[[OST1]](https://youtu.be/0mopwx_opP0) _

“Carrots, I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Nick pinched the bridge of his nose the next day. “But _are you insane?!_ ”

“What?” Judy’s nose wiggled as she pushed shut the comparatively giant fridge door. “Bogo okayed it, right?”

Bogo had indeed established the ground rules for the match, which had been set in four day’s time, for the big field on the other side of the bridge. Bogo and Camazotz had upped the stakes somewhat by promising the winner a two-week exemption from the Animazon Rule, while the loser would be subject to a “forfeit lottery” – in which the punishment would be determined by a randomly selected idea from one of Division 2. Judy and Lee had agreed readily to these conditions.

Judy smiled as she imagined the forfeit she had envisioned for Lee – covering for Judy’s Animazon Rule exemption.

“Yeah, but I get the feeling Lee’s got something up her sleeve,” said Nick. “She seems a little too confident for my liking.”

“So what? She’s cocky.” Judy patiently took a sip of carrot juice.

“Carrots, _think_ for a sec,” Nick explained. “Lee’s not the ‘bold-and-brash’ type. She doesn’t brag unless she’s got a _reason_ to brag.”

“Well, what’s her reason then?” said Judy, shrugging. “The Ingrowls are practically identical. If anything, _she’ll_ be at a disadvantage since she’s got less piloting experience with them.” The grey bunny raised the key drive on her lanyard for emphasis. “She’ll be stuck using either Hylander’s data or a clean key drive.”

“Still, I think we should be ready, and I think I know how…”

Before Judy could ask Nick to elaborate, Hylander strode into the Ready Room, with Beaverbrook close behind.

“I’m telling you, Beaverbrook,” the hyrax chuckled. “I never thought I’d see a duel performed in this day and age! I mean, can you imagine? Labors taking the place of pistols, sabers, or rapiers!”

“Duel?” Nick’s ear twitched as he raised an eyebrow.

“Naturally.” Hylander placed his hands on his hips. “This is an affair of honor! I take it you’re to act as Hopps’ second?”

“Second what?” said Nick.

“Her second – in the duel!”

“… _annnnd_ you’ve lost me.” Nick tilted his head.

Judy glanced at Beaverbrook. The beaver just shrugged behind Hylander.

Hylander chuckled with patronizing amusement. “You’re a philistine, Wilde. In dueling, the seconds act as representatives of the principals – that is to say, of Hopps and of Lieutenant Foxape.”

“This isn’t a duel, Blunderbuss,” Nick groaned. “It’s a practice sparring match.”

“Oh?” said Hylander. “I was under the impression that Hopps offended the Lieutenant, so she threw down the gauntlet and Hopps accepted.”

“ _She_ offended _me_!” Judy piped up, inciting Nick to bury his head in his paws.

“I see…” Hylander adjusted his glasses. “Part of the role of seconds is to try and dissuade any unnecessary violence, but you seem determined on this course of action.”

“Yes, I am.” Judy’s tone was resolute.

“Hold the phone, Blunderbuss,” said Nick. “Did Lee put you up to this whole ‘second’ BS?”

“I offered to act as the Lieutenant’s second, and she raised no objection.”

“Of course…” Nick rolled his eyes and began to shuffle Judy out of the Ready Room. “Well, could you just let me do _my_ ‘second’ thing and talk to my ‘principal’ for a sec?”

Once they were out, Nick closed the door behind him.

“So what do you have planned for Lee?” said Judy.

“I’ve got a pal who might give us something we need, and I think you do too,” explained Nick. “I’m going to need you to ask Joanna a favor.”

“Nick, I can’t ask for special favors from the mechanics,” Judy protested.

“It’s not a special favor. It’s part of their jobs to make piloting the Labors easier for you. And this is just a slight tweak in Robin’s OS – the sort of thing you’d probably ask for anyway after a routine deployment. We’re not giving Robin a death ray or anything. Either way, I get the feeling Lee’s planning something. Hopefully our little upgrade will even the odds.”

“Okay…” said Judy. “But what’s your friend going to provide?”

“I’ll have to wait and see if he’ll agree,” sighed Nick. “Still, couldn’t you two have settled this with Checkers or something?”[1]

* * *

_[[OST2]](https://youtu.be/GOM2pu-mi6c) _

That night, after Division 2 went off duty, Nick and Judy found themselves waiting on the road threading through the warehouses.

Something about this felt… _underground_. Judy was reminded again of how little she knew about Nick, his background, and the company he kept. Who was it they were meeting? Some sort of criminal? A black-market Labor parts dealer?

Finally, Judy’s ears perked as she recognized the van that had picked Nick up after the Okavango Road deployment.

“Is that it?” she said, trying to mask the fear in her voice.

“Mmmm-hmm!” Nick waved to the van as it pulled up to the curb.

“You’re here early,” Nick chimed to the driver, who Judy couldn’t see because the window to the van was so high.

“I wanna get this over wit’ quick,” came a baritone voice. A chill ran down Judy’s spine as the image of an enormous, sneering bear or big cat popped into her head.

“Well, did you get it?” said Nick.

“Come ‘round the back,” the baritone grunted.

Judy and Nick came to the back of the van. The door swung open, revealing a tiny fennec fox. This fennec donned a black polo shirt with a red stripe running down the right-hand side, had an impatient look in his amber eyes. Judy craned her neck to see where the driver was. No sign of him from where she was standing.

Nick clambered into the van and looked at the massive barrel sitting in it. The red fox nodded approvingly at the barrel. “Mmmm! Nice work!”

Judy wished she had Nick’s nose, so she could get a sense of what was in the barrel.

“You have _no_ idea how hard it was to get this thing in here.” Judy was flabbergasted to hear the baritone voice from earlier emanating from the _fennec_ ’s muzzle.

“Wh-what is this stuff?” Judy climbed in to take a look at the barrel. “Grease? What are we going to do with grease?”

“Just trust me on this, Carrots,” said Nick. “If I’m right, this will give you the edge you need…”

* * *

_[[OST3]](https://youtu.be/c9RQ8OnLPv4) _

Eventually, the day of the ‘duel’ (no matter how hard Nick and Bogo tried, Hylander wouldn’t shut up about the notion) came. It was an overcast, windy day. Some of the spectators began to worry about a rainout, but this was the only day within the next month that the match could conceivably happen.

The location was the big field between the SV2 building and the sea. Judy had brought out Unit 1, to no one’s surprise.

However, Nick couldn’t help but notice that Lee had decided to use Unit 3. He and Judy had expected her to use Unit 2. Nick didn’t know what advantage Division 2’s “relief Labor” would give the opossum, but he hoped that the upgrade would make up for it. Something about Unit 3’s bulbous forehead and slim visor made it look sinister as it strode into the field.

Units 1 and 3 were both equipped with training weapons; they had brought out the pellet guns, but they were loaded with paintballs instead of tranquilizer pellets. Additionally, inflatable training sticks replaced the electromagnetic batons. Judy’s stick and paintballs were colored red; Lee’s were pale blue.

Captain Bogo had decided that to keep things fair, there would be a panel of judges. Saeko Inaba had offered to be on this committee, but Bogo had instead selected himself, Captain Polecatsky, and Chief Mechanic Camazotz.

The latter two judges were currently seated behind a folding table a safe distance away while Bogo stood between the two Ingrowls. An assortment of randomly placed orange barrels surrounded the two Labors. An oval of blue barrels marked the boundaries of the field.

“Now here are the rules,” said Bogo through a megaphone to the two combatants. “Whoever can pin the other Labor down for ten seconds, or render the other Labor inoperable as dictated by us judges, is the winner.

“Each of these barrels…” Bogo placed his hand on one of the orange barrels for emphasis. “…represents a civilian, a car, or anything else that could potentially lead to a lawsuit. If either of you touches or damages one of these barrels, that’s a penalty. If the fight leaves the ring marked by the blue barrels, that’s also a penalty. Three penalties in total and that’s an automatic loss. If you strike a blow that would harm the pilot, that’s also an automatic loss. Any questions?”

No response from either Judy or Lee.

“Very well, then…” Bogo ambled off to join his fellow judges behind a folding table a safe distance away. Also watching the battle were Saeko Inaba, both Divisions of SV2, and an assortment of mechanics.

“Hey, McTachy,” said Lieutenant Marvin Sanderson of Division 1. “Who’s your money on?”

“I dunno,” said Officer Spike McTachy, an echidna who was also with Division 1. “We’ve never seen Ingrowls go up against something with a Zeeplabor’s reflexes. Either way, this’ll be interesting…”

“We’ve never seen Foxape- er, _Lee_ in action,” muttered Division 1 Officer Wanda Hickory. “But we _have_ seen how crazy Hopps gets. My money’s on her.”

“Don’t count on it,” said Sanderson, the sand cat’s tail twitching. “Lee’s more experienced. She’s got this.”

Nick took a deep breath behind the gossiping members of Division 1.

“Ooooh!” Saeko Inaba was shivering. “This is so exciting!”

“Okay,” Bogo said through the megaphone. “Three! Two! One! _Begin_!”

* * *

[1] I originally thought of having Nick say ‘rock-paper-scissors’, but I realized that in a world with three-fingered (and sometimes one-fingered) hands, rock-paper-scissors probably wouldn’t catch on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 1) Toshihiko Sahashi - "Perverse" - from _The Big O_
> 
> 2) Toshihiko Sahashi - "The Process" - from _The Big O_
> 
> 3) Toshihiko Sahashi - "Respect - Lower East Side" - from _The Big O_


	4. "What is she DOING?!"

“ _BEGIN!_ ” Bogo repeated. Had Lee and Judy not heard him?

Unit 3 had jolted briefly, but had now returned to a neutral pose. The two Ingrowls just stood there, stone still. Bogo wished he could see what was going on with the two mammals, but he could only see the Ingrowls’ impassive, mouthplated, visored faces.

Inside Unit 3, Lee clenched her teeth. She had expected Hopps to make the first move. What was she doing?!

In Unit 1, Judy sighed in relief. She and Nick had both figured Lee would wait for Judy to slip up. Therefore, they figured the best plan was to make the opossum come to Judy rather than the other way around.

Nick’s eye was kept on Unit 3, smirking a little at how Lee had obviously been caught flat-pawed, but he didn’t know how the marsupial would react to Judy’s inaction.

Bogo was beginning to wonder if this match was going to be a bigger waste of time than it already was when suddenly, Saeko Inaba jumped up and grabbed his megaphone from his hooves.

“C’mon! Let’s see some _action_!” the hare yelled.

Bogo glared at Inaba and grabbed the megaphone back.

Evidently Judy had decided to throw the plan to the wind, for she bent Robin down and charged toward Unit 3.

Lee was quick to react. She had already raised her cockpit to the upper position, and now flicked a switch on Unit 3’s control panel. Parts on Unit 3’s head began to open up, with short antennae extending from the forehead and “cheek guards”.

In Robin’s cockpit, Judy’s monitors suddenly changed to static. Disoriented, she wound up making Unit 1 slam into Unit 3. Her tackle had connected, but not true. Her left shoulder slid off Unit 3’s abdomen, and Robin tumbled to the ground, flattening a barrel underneath its chest like an empty beer can. Unit 3 stumbled a bit from the impact, but adjusted its footing and avoided falling over.

“Hopps! Penalty!” Bogo’s voice came over the two Labors’ comms systems.

“Hold it, hold it, hold it!” Nick clambered up onto the folding table. “I call shenanigans! The ECM pod is cheating!” At least now he knew why Lee had picked Unit 3.

Inside her machine, Lee grimaced. How had Hopps closed the distance so fast?! “We should be prepared for anything in the field, sir,” she explained through Unit 3’s loudspeakers.

“Thoughts?” Bogo turned to Captain Polecatsky on his right.

The spotted skunk leaned on the table and tented her fingers. “I’ve not known Labor criminals to use that kind of sophisticated equipment – then again, we’ve not known them to use firearms either.”

Bogo turned to Chief Mechanic Camazotz on his left. The spectral bat just shrugged.

“The penalty stands,” Bogo finally said into his walkie-talkie. “But no more use of the ECM. You got that?”

“Yes, sir,” said Lee.

_[[OST1]](https://youtu.be/mTOq8s7HAQM) _

Judy had finished getting up. Lee took a step back. Robin sprang at Unit 3 again, but this time, Lee took out Unit 3’s pellet gun. However, to Lee’s amazement, she wasn’t quick enough on the draw, and Unit 1 delivered a clothesline to Unit 3, sending it sprawling to the ground.

Lee had to dodge two barrels as she fell, and a third as she got up. She pointed the pellet gun at Unit 1 again, but once again, Judy closed the distance in the blink of an eye, using the shield on Unit 1’s left arm to bat the gun out of Unit 3’s hand.

Lee wasn’t sure what was going on. Unit 1’s movements were fluid and controlled, as if it were an actual mammal.

In Unit 1’s cockpit, Judy’s focus was laser-like. She swung again and again at Unit 3, forcing it to back up further and further.

“Wow!” murmured Clawhauser, breathless at the spectacle.

“She’s good,” Lt. Sanderson admitted. “She’s not giving Lee any room to breathe!”

“I don’t think I’ve seen a Labor move that fast before,” muttered Captain Polecatsky.

“Come on, Lieutenant!” pleaded Hylander, visibly nervous. “Beaverbrook, show some support!”

“Uh…” Beaverbrook, caught off-guard, adjusted his glasses. “Uh… ‘One! Two! One-two-three! We! Are! All for Lee!’” The beaver did a half-hearted fist-pump, then hung his head. “…Ah, woodchips! That was _terrible_!”

Nick smirked. Judy had this in hand.

All Lee could do was continue to dodge and block with her shield, waiting for an opening to present itself where she could go on the attack. However, before it did, Bogo’s voice came over the opossum’s comms system.

“Lee, you’re out of bounds. That’s a penalty.”

“What?!” Lee examined her surroundings. Two blue barrels were to either side of Unit 3. Lee had been so focused on defending against Judy’s attacks that she’d backed her Ingrowl out of the boundaries marked by the blue barrels.

Judy raised her cockpit and made Robin a few steps back so Lee could re-enter the boundaries. The rabbit had obviously been taking smirking lessons from Wilde. “You sure _you’re_ not the careless one?”

Lee’s brow furrowed. Her grip on Unit 3’s controls tightened. Her breathing became quicker. Her heartbeat escalated.

No! Lee would not let this cocky little upstart bunny get the best of her! She said she’d show her what it meant to be a Zeeplabor pilot and damnit, she _meant it!_

Judy was worried for a moment that Lee was injured. But then Lee’s teeth clenched, and she began to make a growling noise.

“So that’s how you want it, huh?” Lee seethed. “You have _no idea_ what you’re up against, Hopps...”

_[[OST2]](https://youtu.be/pnhut6rV1vA) _

At that moment, the possum uttered a long, deafening, screech. Unit 3 bent its arms and tilted its head up, as if it were screaming at the sky.

“ _HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!_ ”

The spectacle startled Judy enough that Robin took a few steps back.

“ **BOOST KNUCKLE!** ” Lee shrilled.

Judy had time to utter a quick “What.” before Unit 3 delivered a punch to Unit 1’s head.

Nick’s jaw dropped, as did everyone else’s.

“Ingrowls don’t respond to voice commands,” said Wanda Hickory, tilting her head. “…Do they?”

“ **CALAMITY BLADE!** ” Lee yelled, pulling out her machine’s inflatable stun-stick substitute from under her machine’s shield.

“What is she _doing_?!” sputtered Captain Polecatsky.

“Embarrassing me to no end,” Captain Bogo deadpanned, silently kissing the idea of a mentally balanced Division goodbye.

Judy backed up carefully and unsheathed her own inflatable baton. What had gotten into that marsupial?!

“ _CHES-TOOOOH!_ ” Lee yelled, swinging her baton at Robin’s midsection. Judy parried with her rod, and began to back off. Gone were the surgical, calculated movements Lee had exhibited earlier. Now they were replaced with something raw, primal, and unrelenting.

“Well, that flipped in a hurry,” muttered McTachy.

“For the love of Nocturna, those aren’t swords!” said Chief Mechanic Camazotz, as Judy continued to parry Lee’s attacks.

“ _ONE! TWO! ONE-TWO-THREE! WE! ARE! ALL FOR LEE!_ ” barked Hylander. Beaverbrook stood there, stunned at his own ramshackle chant.

Clawhauser chanced to look down at Nick. The portly cheetah grew a little concerned that Nick would swallow a fly given how long his mouth had hung open.

Judy swung her machine to the left, hoping to get around and “insert” the baton into Unit 3’s batteries. However, Lee caught on, and used her shield to deflect the rod away.

But this led Judy to find another opening. She took advantage of Lee’s distraction to deliver a kick to Unit 3’s leg, upsetting its balance. Judy then dealt a blow to Unit 3’s back with her free arm, sending it tumbling forward. Robin then charged forward to administer a killing blow to the batteries.

However, Lee spun Unit 3 around as she fell, dropping her baton and landing on its hands. With another scream of raw determination, Lee made Unit 3 kick Robin’s inflatable baton out of its hands.

Judy backed up and drew Robin’s pellet gun and fired two shots. Lee saw what Judy was doing and dodged. One paintball missed, but the other splattered over the lightbar on top of Unit 3’s left shoulder.

“That’d take out some armor,” observed Camazotz. “But the inner mechanics would be grazed at worst. Still, another hit there and that arm’d be useless.”

While Unit 3 wasn’t as fast as the somehow-sped-up Unit 1, it still got close enough to Robin that Judy had no choice but to discard her pellet gun and resort to another round of hand-to-hand combat. This time, the rabbit was ready for the opossum. She kept her hands up and used her shield to deflect a blow from Unit 3 before grabbing it by the midsection. Judy would have forced the other machine down, but Lee planted Unit 3’s feet into the ground and pushed into Judy, knocking both Ingrowls down like dominoes.

“We should’ve charged admission,” chuckled a pig mechanic.

Judy was down, but not out. She tried to grapple Unit 3, hoping to roll both Zeeplabors over, so that she could pin it down, but she noticed there were orange barrels to either side of her and relented. Lee took advantage of Judy’s confusion to stand back up. Robin did the same and stepped away from the two barrels.

“ **INAZUMA ROUNDHOUSE KICK!** ” Lee yelled, swinging Unit 3’s leg around.

However, to the possum’s chagrin and amazement, the grey bunny was once again too quick to react. Robin took a step back, and in one swift movement, caught Unit 3’s leg as it came toward it.

Robin then pulled the leg towards it, swinging its left arm around to catch the back of Unit 3’s neck and forcing it down onto the ground. Judy clenched her teeth as she tried to hold the machine down.

Now it was Lee’s turn to mount an attempted comeback. She’d noticed an object in the grass in front of her; the pellet gun that Unit 3 had dropped earlier in the fight. Thinking quickly, Lee lurched her Ingrowl forward, grabbing the gun in her hand and swinging it toward Robin. Robin abandoned the attempted pin to grab the gun, and the two Labors writhed in the grass to gain control of the weapon.

Three shots were let wild in the scuffle before Bogo’s irate voice broke over the comms systems.

“ _THIS MATCH IS OVER! YOU’RE BOTH PENALIZED! KNOCK IT OFF!_ ”

“What?!”

The two combatants looked at the knoll where the spectators were and realized what had happened.

All three of the pale blue paintballs fired in the struggle over the pellet gun had splattered on the knoll. Sanderson and several of the mechanics had been knocked to the ground by one. Clawhauser had taken the brunt of the second shot, and he now blinked in confusion, looking like a great feline blueberry. Hylander had escaped the deluge by taking cover behind the cheetah’s girth. Enough of the second shot had still done enough to knock Nick onto his back and Beaverbrook onto his belly, and the two blue mammals slowly got up. Bogo had realized what was going on in time to see the third shot coming, and had tipped over the folding table for cover, protecting Polecatsky and Camazotz. However, being the largest of the judges, the buffalo hadn’t ducked down behind the table in time, and now half of his face was pale blue.

“I repeat,” Bogo rumbled into his walkie-talkie. “That’s penalty number three! This match is over!”

“Three, sir?” Lee slowly got Unit 3 to its feet, startling Judy with how quickly she’d returned to her old, reserved persona. “Counting this, Hopps and I only have two each.”

“I said three penalties _in_ _total_ would lead to an automatic loss.” Bogo glared at the two Ingrowls. “Once when Hopps hit that barrel, once when you went out of bounds, and once when you both opened fire on spectators!”

“Wait, the penalties were counting against _both_ of us?” squeaked Judy.

“In the field, public safety doesn’t give a damn about who damages what,” Bogo huffed. “It’s not enough for you to avoid damage – your jobs require you to make sure the other Labor doesn’t wreck anything either.”

Nick cleared some of the paint from his face with some uprooted weeds before glaring up at Bogo. “Why didn’t you tell us?!”

Bogo returned the glare tenfold. “In our line of work, I shouldn’t have to.”

* * *

After everyone returned to hangar to examine the Ingrowls or wash off the paint (which thankfully was biodegradable), Lee mulled over the events of the sparring match.

Judy’s movements had been elastic and graceful, as if Lee had been fighting an eel. And how had that rabbit been able to move the Ingrowl so fast?! Any faster and Judy might as well paint Unit 1 red and start donning a mask for no reason.

She was mulling this over, glancing at the two Zeeplabors as the mechanics checked them over. Just then, Captain Bogo passed by her, having already cleared the paint from his face.

“Captain?” said the possum. “Just so I know, which of us lost the match?”

“Both of you.” The buffalo seemed distracted, judging by his offhand tone.

“I-I see…” muttered Lee. “But what about the forfeit lottery?”

“That’ll have to wait, Lieutenant,” Bogo grumbled. “We’re out on a call now.”

“What?”

“The storm outside’s only getting worse.” Bogo glanced at the papers in his hooves. “The Climate Control Office thinks the heavy winds are going to slip through to Little Rodentia.”

Lee’s brows shot up. Zootopia’s highly sophisticated climate control systems were immensely powerful – in fact, the need to maintain and more recently refurbish them was one of the main reasons for the proliferation of Labors and rodent-scaled Microlabors. That said, even they couldn’t completely control the weather, and some phenomena occasionally “slipped through” the system.

If the rodent-scaled Little Rodentia was going to be hit by the winds, that was cause for panic considering how susceptible the miniscule Borough was to strong weather. The city kept a prefabricated geodesic dome in storage that could be erected over the borough for this sort of emergency.

“Has something happened, sir?” said Lee.

“No, not yet,” said Bogo. “But they’re putting up the big dome to be on the safe side. Bureau Chief Buckminster and Borough Chief Brie want us there in case something goes wrong.”

“I see…” Lee sighed. “I’ll get the others ready.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> 1) Kenji Kawai - "T-City" - from _Patlabor: The Mobile Police_ TV series
> 
> 2) Masako Iwanaga - "TIME TO COME" (vocal) - from _Super Robot Wars_


	5. "I said LOWER IT!"

The storm only grew worse as Division 2 made its way Downtown.

Little Rodentia's central location – within walking distance of Aquavitae Plaza – brought back memories of Okavango Road for Division 2, so Captain Bogo was moody enough _before_ he had to talk to his boss, Bureau Chief Buckminster.

The buffalo now took a deep breath in as he squeezed his massive frame through the door of the ZPD mobile command center that had been set up outside Little Rodentia. He'd need all the mental fortification he could get.

Officers both of the typical large ZPD variety and the tiny Little Rodentia variety were milling around the trailer. Bureau Chief Eli Buckminster was discussing something with several rodents, the buttons and medals of his dress uniform (which he always wore when given the chance) glinting in the fluorescent light. On the table, Bogo recognized Angela Brie, Borough Chief for Little Rodentia. Unlike Buckminster, the mouse was donning a simple raincoat.

"I assure you, Special Vehicles will have everything under control," said Buckminster. Bogo winced at the wapiti's trademark sycophantic tone.

Brie rolled her eyes. "Well, hopefully it won't come to that. You're just here in case of an emergency, remember?"

It figured that Buckminster was shoveling a sales pitch for his career to Brie. While Borough Chiefs and Bureau Chiefs were nominally equal in rank, some of them wielded more power and influence than others, thanks in no small part to the scope of their respective jurisdictions.. Since Little Rodentia practically had its own police force, Angela Brie was one of the more powerful Borough Chiefs in the ZPD. Being Bureau Chief of Special Vehicles was on the lower end of that totem pole – not to hear Buckminster say that, given how often the elk bragged about hobnobbing with the ZPD's highest-ranking officers. Bogo honestly couldn't tell if Buckminster was in denial or if he was just that stupid.

"Ah, Bogo!" the elk chimed as he finally noticed the buffalo. "Glad to see you could make it."

"You ordered me here, sir." Bogo tried to keep the contempt out of his voice.

"Ah, yes…" Buckminster quickly turned back to Brie. "Anyway, we're… uh…"

"We've already completed the frame and the lower cladding of the dome," Brie squeaked up from the table. "The city's got Scorpios bringing up panels from outside and Clenchers securing them from the inside. SV3's standing by on the interior. Barring any complications, we'll be set up in fifty minutes tops."

Bogo nodded. Special Vehicles Third Section was the ZPD's Microlabor Division – with jurisdiction over Little Rodentia.

"And the storm?" Bogo asked.

"Weather report says it'll get _really_ nasty in about ninety minutes," said a uniformed mouse officer next to Brie.

"Is your team decked up?" said Buckminster.

"That's being taken care of now," Bogo assured.

"Well then get to it!" Buckminster snapped, as if he weren't the one that had asked Bogo to check in with him earlier.

"Yes, sir." Bogo quietly made his way out of the trailer.

* * *

"No, Daddy!" A tiny shrew wobbled her way along the plaza surrounding Little Rodentia and the incomplete dome, screaming into her phone over the wind. "They've closed off the square. I'll take my chances and stay in Little Rodentia until it blows over. They're putting up the dome now. I'll call you once I'm in."

Francesca "Fru-Fru" Shrewleone ambled her way against the wind; thankful she was on the leeward side of the dome.

* * *

By now, both Units 1 and 2 were decked up, their pilots on standby.

From inside Robin's cockpit, Judy watched the city-owned Scorpio lift a prefabricated panel for the dome into position.

Like the Crabmammal, the Scorpio was a four-legged, insect-like machine with wheels inside its legs. One key difference though, was the giant crane-arm erected at the rear end, which made it resemble a scorpion, hence its name. On the other side of the dome, Judy knew that another Scorpio was also lifting panels up.

For each panel placed onto the dome from the outside, Microlabors from Little Rodentia were working to secure them in place from the inside.

Judy thought back to Lee's abrupt change in personality. What on earth was that all about?! And calling her attack names? Seriously? How on earth had that opossum gone from Lieutenant Prim-And-Professional to Screaming, Hammy Banshee in seconds?

Thoughts popped into her head of glancing at some of the stuff her younger siblings watched – and something Captain Bogo had said while dressing down Division 2 after Okavango Road.

No. Her? Lee?!

Just then, Bogo's voice rang out on her radio. _"We have a problem."_

 _"What is it, sir?"_ came Nick's voice.

_"One of the city Scorpios has broken down, and the storm's only getting closer. We'll need you two to assist in the construction after all. Before you go, remember one thing; mammals your size can't enter Little Rodentia without special permission. Labors in Little Rodentia are a definite no-no. I don't want to see a single Ingrowl toe go over that fence."_

* * *

_[[OST1]](https://youtu.be/1PfuiDEbxb4) _

After being released from their respective trailers, Units 1 and 2 made their way to the other side of the incomplete dome.

The work was essentially doing what the Scorpios were doing; the Ingrowls would pick up the heavy-duty plastic panels from the dome and hold them in place while from the inside, the comparatively tiny, caterpillar-shaped Clencher Microlabors did the work of securing them to the geodesic frame using a series of appendages.

Judy couldn't help but watch the Microlabors at work. Since Microlabors didn't have to worry about the square/cube law like regular Labors, and were often built for more specific tasks (like the Clencher, which was built to climb up tall surfaces), they often had more adventurous shapes and designs. Judy had heard of a serpentine Microlabor that inspected and repaired pipes, and a firefighting Microlabor that could climb tall (by rodent standards) buildings and deploy a ladder or slide to the ground.

Half the work had been done already when the Scorpio had broke down, but Judy was still worried about the impending storm. The winds were only getting stronger and stronger. Judy could even feel Robin begin to sway a little around her.

Hylander was getting ancy too as he carried a panel toward the dome.

 _"Aw, shit!"_ squeaked a Little Rodentian foremammal on the inside through the comms system. _"Quick! One of you Zeeplabors get over to Panel B-9. Bolts are comin' loose there!"_

Judy made Robin dash for the afflicted panel as it rattled in the wind. She spurred Unit 1 to run faster, but it was too late. The triangular panel ripped off the frame, sailing in the wind, slamming into Unit 2's face. Judy managed to catch the panel just after the impact.

"You alright?" Judy asked Hylander, remembering the hyrax's experience at Mystic Springs Oasis.

"Bah, I'm fine!" said Hylander.

Unbeknownst to them, a rubbernecker had caught video of the impact, and was already uploading it to EweTube.

The construction work continued, becoming more and more difficult as the panels were placed higher and the winds became stronger.

Judy and Hylander had to keep Bogo's warning in mind as they had to lean a little over the dome in order to reach the upper parts of it.

Eventually, there was only one panel left; the one that fit over the very top. Unfortunately, this area was beyond the Ingrowl's reach. The Scorpio's crane could reach it, but the winds kept blowing it askew from where it was supposed to fit.

"Normally the other Scorpio helps keep it in place," Borough Chief Brie explained to Bogo in the trailer.

"Can't we just send for another Scorpio?" Bureau Chief Buckminster growled at Bogo.

"There was supposed to be three to begin with, remember?" Brie snapped. "Trouble is, the third one never got here. The storm created a pileup on the A9 and its carrier got caught in the gridlock after it. The driver says it'll be another hour at least before he gets here."

Now the winds were at gale force. Judy kept thinking of how to get the panel safely positioned, then noticed that the broken-down Scorpio was sitting near the police trailer. The image of Nick fishing popped into her mind.

"Uh, Captain Bogo?" the bunny asked into her receiver. "Is the broken Scorpio's crane still working?"

"What?" Inside the trailer, Bogo raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe…"

Bogo turned to the muskrat from the Municipal Engineering Department who was in charge of the two Scorpios. "Motor systems were shot, but the crane does still work," said the muskrat.

"What good does that do?" growled Bogo, not sure if he was addressing Judy or the muskrat.

In Unit 1, Judy grinned. "I've got an idea…"

* * *

Admittedly, using the broken-down Scorpio as a giant fishing pole was more difficult than Judy had envisioned. The winds weren't helping either. As the two cranes hoisted up the final panel, Judy had a few moments where she kept thinking the panel would blow right off the hooks. The meerkat operating the broken-down Scorpio's crane was very helpful though, and Hylander's Unit 2 was helping make doubly sure that the Scorpio was steady.

"That's it… That's it…" the meerkat murmured. "Keep 'er steady…"

As she, and the other Scorpio guided the panel into place, Judy thought they had it in the bag.

But then, another sudden gust shot blew the panels sideways, and it swung precariously, nearly coming off the hooks altogether.

"Sirs?" Everyone's heads turned as Lee stepped into the trailer. "I think I might be of some help."

* * *

_[[OST2]](https://youtu.be/5Vb1pfMdAag) _

Judy was already having doubts about her own 'fishing pole' idea. Having Lee climb up to the top of the functional Scorpio's crane to hold the plastic panel down onto the frame pushed that doubt into outright regret.

Was Lee that determined to show her up? Or was she really that reckless? Judy just could not get a handle on the possum's mentality.

"I'll be fine," Lee had urged Captain Bogo. "I'm a climbing species, and I'll have a harness."

Sure enough, Lee had secured a mountain climbing harness from a sporting goods store a block down.

Now, she sat atop the crane arm, lashed to its tip.

"I'll admit," said Hylander. "The Lieutenant has guts!"

Even Judy was inclined to agree.

Sitting atop the tip of the crane, Lee held onto the cold metal surface as best she could. The fact that her feet were built for grasping as well as her hands no doubt helped her stay in place. The hard hat offered further protection. Hopefully she wouldn't need it.

"Okay, that's it…" she said into her walkie-talkie. "Keep lowering…"

Just then, another gust picked up. Lee's grip intensified and she waited for it to die down before gently sliding down the cable onto the panel.

Lee resisted the temptation to look at the square around her. Climbing species or not, this was not the time to risk vertigo or acrophobia (she had no idea how susceptible she was to either).

The plan seemed to be working. Lee's presence on the panel made it somewhat steadier as it was lowered down again. She soon found that by adjusting her weight, she could counterbalance the wind's effects.

Just then, an unexpectedly powerful gust shot Lee's way, and she was swept off the panel. Thankfully, her harness caught her. The opossum dangled for a while, the rope grinding against the edge of the panel. She panted heavily for a short while as she saw down the side of the dome.

 _"Lee!"_ Bogo yelled into her earpiece.

"I-I'm fine, sir!" panted Lee, beginning to pull herself up. "I'll give it another try."

Lee successfully hoisted herself up back onto the crane arm, heart still racing.

Suddenly, Lee was once again swept off by a sudden gust. The rope stopped her, but right after that, she heard a gut-wrenching 'snap!' and her blood turned to ice as she felt the pull of gravity again.

It turned out that during her earlier fall, the sharp edge of the panel had cut into her rope, weakening it.

Judy's heart stopped as she realized that the rope had broken. However, to her amazement, Lee quickly wrapped her prehensile tail around the crane's cable.

Now more sure of her grip, Lee placed her hands on the top panel, digging her claws into the plastic, clenching her teeth as she swung it as hard as she could into the right alignment.

"Lower it," she hissed into her earpiece.

Bogo's voice was sharp with concern. _"Lee, you need-"_

"I said _lower it_!"

Sure enough, the crane began paying out cable, and Lee felt herself descending a little as the panel slid into place with a satisfying 'clunk!'

Lee sighed as she heard the Clenchers underneath begin their work of securing the panel.

However, in her relief, her tail's grip on the cable lessened, and she was caught flat-pawed by the next gust, and she fell right onto the rain-slick panel.

The possum dug her claws into the plastic to no avail, and the wind, coupled with her momentum, sent her tumbling off the side of the dome. A rodent-sized scream became louder and louder. Lee closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

Lee sensed nothing at first, but then Judy's voice suddenly came through what sounded like a loudspeaker.

_[[OST3]](https://youtu.be/L8xYdTSvQSQ) _

"Love your hair."

"Aw!" a tiny voice squeaked. "Thank you!"

Lee opened her eyes. Softly gripping her were the massive fingers of an Ingrowl. Peering down between the giant fingers, Lee could see the figure of a tiny shrew glancing up at something behind her.

Lee turned around, and saw the impassive face of Unit 1 peering down at her.

 _"Are you alright, Lee?!"_ Bogo demanded through the Lieutenant's earpiece.

"I-I'm fine, sir." Lee couldn't quite believe what had happened either.

As soon as Lee began tumbling down the dome, Judy had rocketed away from the broken-down Scorpio, and grasped Lee as she fell, stopping her from crushing the shrew underneath. The Ingrowl had bent over and placed one hand on the ground to stop the fall not a few inches above the shrew's head.

The shrew…

"What are you doing here?" Lee demanded, turning her attention to the rodent she had nearly flattened. "It's not safe!"

"I-I was trying to get in the dome. I thought 'cause wind was blowin' in the other direction I'd…" the shrew trailed off.

Lee sighed. "Sir, we have a shrew civilian on the premises. She says she was trying to get in the dome. What do we do with her?"

 _"Can you walk?"_ Bogo asked.

"I think so…" Lee flexed her toes to be sure.

 _"Escort her to the nearest entrance to the borough. Let the Little Rodentia force take care of her from there. Then come_ right _back to the trailer and get yourself checked up! Caught or not, that fall could have killed you!"_

But it hadn't.

Why?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**
> 
>  
> 
> 1) Kenji Kawai - "Meisou Yakuin Kai" ("The High-Ups Plan a Retaliation") - from _Earth Defence Dai-Guard_
> 
> 2) Kenji Kawai - "Zenchou" ("Omen") - from _Earth Defence Dai-Guard_
> 
> 3) Kenji Kawai - "Shouri" ("Victory") - from _Earth Defence Dai-Guard_
> 
>  
> 
> Eli Buckminster: Tule elk ( _Cervus canadensis nannodes_ )
> 
> Angela Brie: I can't really take credit for Borough Chief Brie - she was in early drafts of Zootopia as an officer, but was removed because the creators wanted Judy to be the smallest mammal on the force.


	6. "We can get out of uniform at least..."

Lee was still pondering Judy's impossible rescue as Division 2 headed back.

No matter how Lee looked at it, there was no conceivable way that Hopps could have caught her like that… and yet Lee had survived to tell the tale.

As many times as cartoons depicted giant robots saving lives by catching falling mammals, the idea of a Labor performing that feat in real life was just unthinkable. Suddenly stopping Lee's fall should have dealt her grievous, perhaps even fatal injuries. But Lee had only suffered some bruising, and that may have been from tumbling down the side of the dome  _before_  actually falling.

So why?!

A few hours after returning to the hangar, Lee remembered that her command car had been parked facing the scene of the fall. She quickly extracted the footage from its dash-cam, uploaded it onto Ready Room 2's computer, and sure enough, there it was.

In one graceful, swooping movement, Judy had enveloped Unit 1's fingers around Lee as her fall began, and gradually slowed down the fall as she came down.

Lee had to watch the footage several times – mostly in slow motion – before finally processing what had happened.

Lee stepped out of the Ready Room and wandered back into the hangar, stopping at the sound of an argument between Joanna Namakoro and Chief Mechanic Camazotz in front of Unit 1.

"What's this I hear about you muckin' around with Unit 1's OS before the match without telling me?!" the bat snapped, crawling toward her subordinate.

"I wasn't mucking!" Joanna backed away from the much smaller bat, holding up her paws defensively. "Hopps wanted me to loosen the movement parameters! That's allowed!"

"You what?" Camazotz was more puzzled than outraged. Lee shared her confusion.

Movement parameters defined how sensitive a Labor's OS was to the pilot's commands. Joanna was correct in saying that 'tuning' the movement parameters was allowed – in fact, most of the time, pilots requested it to make sure that the Labor responded better to them. Zeeplabor pilots in particular needed a responsive machine so that they could react properly to rapidly changing situations. 'Tightening' them made the Labor less sensitive, 'loosening' them made it more so.

But as Labors became more advanced, it was now much more common for Forwards to ask the mechanics to tighten the parameters – so that the Labor didn't flail around dangerously at the slightest nudge of a control lever.

"Well, next time let me know first," growled Camazotz, who then flew up to Unit 1's open cockpit. "But what's all this grease I keep smelling up here?! What conceivable reason would you have to slather grease all over the lever and pedal joints?!"

Joanna shrugged. "I didn't put that there. I think Hopps and Wilde did that."

The grease added another layer of confusion. Coupled with the loose movement parameters, the greased-up controls should have made Unit 1 nearly uncontrollable, not insanely agile like it had been in the sparring match and the deployment at Little Rodentia.

"Not possible…" Lee muttered under her breath.

 _"All members of Division 2 report to the Captains' office,_ " Bogo's voice rang out over the PA system.

Lee made her way to the office, unsure what the meeting was about. She'd already started her report of the deployment, and she knew that at least a few of the others had done the same.

On the way there, Lee overheard Hylander complaining to Beaverbrook about the now-memetic EweTube video showing the panel blowing off the dome and straight into Unit 2's face.

"By all rights, I should sue them for defamation of character!" he muttered.

"It's the internet. It'll blow over," said Beaverbrook.

Once in the office, all the members of Division 2, lined up to attention.

"Now, before this mess began," Bogo explained, pacing up and down the row of officers. "We were going to hold a 'forfeit lottery' to decide how to punish you lot for what happened in Hopps and Lee's sparring match." Bogo stopped to look down the line. "While I realize that the last deployment was… stressful, I don't think it would hurt if you all received a gentle reminder that there are consequences for misusing Labors."

Judy studied the floor. Lee summoned as much poise as she could, staring at the opposite wall.

"So I have decided," Bogo continued, "To forgo the lottery and give you the most 'relaxing' punishment submitted."

Everyone's glanced from one to the other of his or her fellow officers.

"Congratulations, Officer Wilde." The slightest hint of a grin appeared on Bogo's face. "It was your idea I selected."

Division 2's attention soon turned to Nick. The fox merely grinned and shuffled nervously.

"Nick…?!" Judy raised an accusatory eyebrow at her partner.

Nick chuckled nervously. "Well… We can get out of uniform at least."

* * *

_[[OST1]](https://youtu.be/9IUf9bqL6b8) _

"If anyone behind me is staring at my butt," Judy yelled. "I'd like to remind them that my legs, which can  _kick really hard_ , are attached to it!"

The grey doe had successfully covered her bare front with her ears and hands, but she was now realizing she'd left her rear flank unguarded.

Lee was glad she had her prehensile tail to wrap around her rear, freeing her arms to cover her chest as the two women exited the ladies' changing rooms at Mystic Springs Oasis.

Mercifully, a giant tarpaulin had been hung over the hole in the wall created during the Hareacles' rampage, so the only mammals that could peer at them were Naturalists, who seemed eerily uninterested in looking at their private parts. Still, the experience was discomforting for the pair.

"I'm gonna garrote that fox with his own tail," Lee heard Judy mutter.

Just then, out came Joanna Namakoro, hands nervously pressed against her crotch.

"I wish I had bigger hands…" she murmured.

"What?" said Judy. "Is something wrong?"

"It's just that the, uh…  _hardware_  for female hyenas is a little bit different than for other species." Joanna's ears lowered submissively. "My Mom always said it was no big deal, but I… I never really hung around that many other hyenas, so I always found it kinda embarrassing."

"Oh…" Judy glanced around, then noticed something out of the corner of her eye. "I don't think it'll be a problem here." She gestured to where a binturong woman was drying herself off, indifferent to her full frontal nudity.

"Oh…" Joanna nervously took her hands off her groin. "That's gotta be the first time I've seen one of those that wasn't on a hyena."

"What are you doing here anyway?" said Lee.

"Chief wanted to pay me back for adjusting  _your_  OS without telling her." The hyena glared at Judy.

"Sorry, Joanna…" Judy groaned. "I'll make it up to you."

"Let's just get this over with…" Lee sighed, and the three women slowly made their way into the courtyard.

Were it not for the tarpaulins covering holes in the wall and one of the buildings, you'd think nothing had changed since the Hareacles' rampage. Blissfully naked mammals went about their business, swimming in the Pleasure Pool, playing volleyball, or engaging in other activities.

"Oh, hi!" An ermine walked up to the trio. "You must be new here!"

"Uh, yeah…" Judy wasn't sure whether to be comforted or unnerved by the fact that the mustelid wasn't looking at their… sensitive areas.

"Cool!" The ermine made his way to the gentlemammals' changeroom. "Hope you have a good time!"

No one else seemed to be looking at the three in a perverted way. Nonetheless, Lee's eyes kept flickering between all the naturalists.

"Hey, look!" Joanna gestured to one of the volleyball courts. There was Nick, Hylander, Clawhauser, and Beaverbrook, all enjoying themselves, seeming completely ignorant of their nakedness. From the look of it, Clawhauser and Beaverbrook's team was winning handily.

Judy and Lee instinctively averted their eyes.

"Should we-"

"No," Judy and Lee chorused, interrupting Joanna.

"They'd never let us hear the end of it," said Judy.

Just then, Lee noticed a small, vacant, kidney-shaped swimming pool tucked behind a small hedge. Ideally suited to avoid attention.

"Quiet pool at two o'clock," she whispered to her compatriots, before seeing a grey blur suddenly shoot by her, and in a flash, all of Judy Hopps from the shoulders down was submerged in the pool.

Lee had heard bunnies were fast – thanks in part to their metabolism – but Judy then had seemed as fast as… as…

In another flash, the pieces fit together for Lee.

Back in the sparring match, Lee had assumed that it was Unit 1's modifications that had made it so fast. But she had ruled it out when she remembered that the Ingrowl's base speed was in fact quite fast – it was the tight default movement parameters in its OS that restrained it.

The lowered parameters and greased-up controls for Unit 1 now made sense. Most of the time, tuning the movement parameters was done so that the pilot could keep up with the Labor. But for Judy Hopps and her insane bunny metabolism and reflexes, it was necessary to make Unit 1's parameters looser than the default settings so that  _it_  could keep up with  _her_.

Lee gaped before shaking it off and slipping into the pool. Did Judy actually have some kind of innate talent? No. Animals weren't just  _born_  good Labor pilots.

"Gyah…" muttered Judy, pulling the lower part of her drooped ears out of the water. "It's always kinda weird having your ears dip in like that."

With Judy's ears lifted up, Lee got a better look at her naked form. The possum's brow raised as she realized that underneath her uniform, even with fur covering her, the bunny was slightly, but noticeably, on the muscular side.

"Hopps…" said Lee, "Do you… work out?"

"Yeah…?" Judy's nose wiggled.

Lee averted her eyes as the insides of her ears began to redden.

Before the rabbit could inquire why Lee had asked, there were quite a few splashes as Joanna tried to make her way into the pool. The closest the hyena could come to submerging her whole torso was if she almost lay down. This pool was obviously made for smaller mammals like Judy and Lee.

"Sorry, gals," said Joanna. "Pool's too shallow. I'll try the mud pits. Wish me luck!"

The hyena ambled off, leaving Judy and Lee sitting in the small pool. For a while, they sat there, eyes occasionally flitting toward one another.

_[[OST2]](https://youtu.be/GJNQMbVdp0g) _

"Lee…" Judy began at last. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" Lee raised an eyebrow.

"Do you…" Judy clenched her teeth in discomfort. "…watch giant robot cartoons?"

"Why do you ask?" Lee tried to disguise her displeasure.

"It's just that back in the sparring match, you were kinda…" Judy measured her words. "… calling your attack names like on those super robot shows."

Terror seeped across Lee's face. "That was out loud?!"

Judy stared at Lee. How did she not know that?! "It was on your loudspeakers."

Lee stared at Judy, then submerged her body up to her chin in the pool. "Just kill me now…" she muttered.

"Is… is that why you work with Zeeplabors?" said Judy, meekly.

Lee sank even lower.

"It's okay if it is," Judy assured. "I mean, I've wanted to be a cop since I was a kit. I shouldn't judge."

Lee stared up at Judy. Was Hopps… eating crow? The possum poked her head out of the water. "Why?"

"Why what?" Judy tilted her head.

"Why did you want to be a cop?" There was no hint of judgment in Lee's voice.

Judy shrugged. "To make the world a better place. That's all there is to it."

Lee stared a little longer at Judy, then sighed. Judy couldn't tell what that meant.

Just then, a volleyball sailed over their heads and plopped into the water.

"Hang on, I'll get it!" Clawhauser's voice sounded from behind and soon enough, the cheetah rounded the hedge near the pool. "Oh hey, you guys!"

"Hi…?" said Judy.

"What's takin' you- oh!" Nick Wilde suddenly came around the hedge. "Carrots! I'd thought you two were still 'Naturalizing'!"

Lee returned to submerging her body up to her muzzle in the water. Judy soon joined her.

"Hey, you two wanna join in?" said Clawhauser, fishing the volleyball out of the pool.

"No thank you," Lee and Judy chorused.

"What, so going at each other in giant robots doesn't even faze you," said Nick, giving his trademark smirk. "But a friendly game of naturalist volleyball does? I thought you were made of sterner stuff, Carrots!"

Judy suddenly stood up, thoughts of modesty banished from her mind. "We'll see about that," she huffed, snatching the ball from Clawhauser's paw.

Lee stared after Judy as she sauntered off with Nick and Clawhauser.

Clearly, dealing with Judy was going to be a tricky prospect, but at least it wasn't completely hopeless.

All the same, if she was to bring Judy in line, Lee would have to be firm but encouraging, and above all maintain her own sense of discipline. After all, it was bad enough that Judy was a loose cannon; the last thing Lee needed was to sink to her level.

Lee sank into the pool until her ears were all that poked above the surface. How on earth had she forgotten to switch her loudspeakers off?!

* * *

"Epic! Absolutely epic! I swear, that rabbit could make a Labor dance the ballet!"

"You really think she's that good?"

"If she could catch that possum without injuring her, I'd say she is! No doubt about it, Unit 221 and its pilot will be our sample for Operation Crucible!"

"But the high-ups haven't approved Operation Crucible, Mr. Bright."

"Oh, they will… Just you wait. They will…"

* * *

**THIS IS AN AU, BUT IN TEN YEARS, WHO KNOWS…?**

_[[OST-PV]](https://youtu.be/ppx5VEej7BU) _

**NEXT TIME:**

**Judy:**  "Whoa! This must be a big one!"

 **Nick:**  "Why?"

 **Judy:**  "Buckminster wants both us  _and_  Division 1 on the trail of this truck!"

 **Polecatsky:**  "Apparently there's something special about the Labor it's carrying..."

 **Bogo:**  "I don't like this... HQ's keeping something from us."

 **Nick:**  "Okay, what kind of Labor is-  _Oh no...!_ "

 **Beaverbrook:** "Woodchips...!"

 **Hylander:**  "Why don't _we_ have that kind of firepower?!"

 **Duke Weaselton:**  "What did I to ta deserve this?!"

 **Judy:**  "On the next  _Zeeplabor_ : 'The Belabored Bootlegger'!  _Target: Locked on!_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>   
> **BACKGROUND MUSIC:**  
>   
> 
> 1) Toshihiko Sahashi - "Procrastination" - from  _The Big O_
> 
> 2) Micheal Giacchino - "Foxy Fakeout" - from  _Zootopia_
> 
> PV) Kenji Kawai - "Scramble" - from  _Patlabor - The Mobile Police_  TV series
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> One more note; writing this ahead of time was meant to buy me time to completely write the next serial, but thanks to IRL commitments, it didn't buy me as much time as I thought it would, so don't be surprised if it takes a while for "The Belabored Bootlegger" to get uploaded.


End file.
